Olympic Heights has hired Keith Mackrey as its new boys’ varsity basketball head coach.  Mackrey will be replacing Matt Ryder who is leaving to take the athletic director position at Boca Raton High School after serving as the Olympic Heights head coach for three years.

Mackrey has been the girls’ varsity basketball head coach at Park Vista High School for the past six years where he has led the team to conference, district and regional championships, as well as one trip to the state final four.

For the seven years prior to serving as the girls’ varsity head coach, Mackrey served as the Park Vista boys’ junior varsity coach and the varsity associate head coach.

Mackrey has also served as the basketball fundamentals trainer for the Wellington Travel Basketball Association and is the co-owner of S.M.A.C.K. Basketball, Inc., which provides fundamentals clinics to the Wellington Recreational Department and individual players.

Mackrey is a Philadelphia native who was a standout high school basketball player at Cheltenham High School in Wyncote, Penn. and played at Kutztown University, where he earned multiple honors and established school scoring records.

Mackrey says that he is a defense-first oriented coach, but will also run an up-tempo offense with continuous movement and creativeness for all five players on the court. He believes that players need to be given the opportunity to develop their skills in a structured but relaxed learning environment that constantly challenges the athlete.